Golf prepares to qualify for CCS playoffs

Whoosh! The golf season is already halfway through and the golf spirit is coursing through the players’ veins. Although there have been some ups and downs throughout the season, many members claim that the season has only started.

Senioritis keeps Shashank Sanjay in a positive mood even though the team record is 8-3. He believes that this is a decent score but it was really the “team spirit” that has taken them this far. Sure, the golf team certainly has a great run, but teams from Woodside and Hillsdale have possibly denied a spot for our school to participate in CCS. Maybe this is a sign for the golf players to step up and improve on their game. “Some of the team’s weak points in the game are managing around hte course and understanding the mental aspects of the game,” golf coach and biotech teacher Jimmy Ikeda says.

As they work toward qualifying for CCS, Shashank, team captain, will have to guide his peers to victory. Since the start of the season, Shashank has seen major improvement in the team. “The team has improved by learning how to score well, learning their game better and knowing their strengths and weaknesses,” Sanjay says. Even the six-year veteran thinks he has improved too. As captain of the team, he not only teaches and leads his fellow teammates, but he also gets to learn from everyone else and bond with the team. His years in golf have taught him many things about the courses around the bay. He believes that the Peninsula Golf Course is the hardest that he’s played on.

Despite Sanjay’s struggles through high school, two golf icons pull him towards his important goals. Sergio CGarcia is a Spanish pro golfer who has won man competitions to place him in the top ten. The other one is Camilo Villegas, a Colombian player who ahs won eight professional golf competitions, including the U.S. Open and the PGA Tour.

On the other hand, Harry Su, a sophomore, has shown his potential in the game. Su has been playing since the first grade, a whopping nine years. Two of those years have been under the Supervision of Ikeda. Su says that Ikeda has helped him in the game in so many ways that he cannot explain. This year, Su continues to play with upperclassmen such as Sanjay, Ryan Flatland, and Cory Jacobs. Because golf is one team, Su plays against upperclassmen in other schools. “It’s hard competing with juniors and seniors because I get really nervous playin against older players, they might have been playing golf longer. But after a few holes I get used to it,” Su says.

Jimmy Ikeda, who is 25-year golf veteran and five-year golf coach, has also seen major improvement in everybody on the team. Being one of the teachers of hte most popular class in San Mateo–Biotech, Ikeda has always escaped to the golf course for relief from teaching. Ikeda believes that the most essential players on hte team are Su, Sanjay, Cory Jacobs, Robert Weathers, and Darren Toler. All six of these players have a t least played one game in this season as one of the leading players. But Ikeda doesn’t have a favorite and his goal for the olf team is to have everyone “enjoy the sport, because it is a lifelong game.”